Systems and methods for obtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for obtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device is described. A plurality of audiograms is collected. The plurality of audiograms is divided into one or more sets of audiograms. A representative audiogram is created for each set of audiograms. A hearing enhancement fitting is computed from each representative audiogram. A hearing aid device is programmed with one or more hearing enhancement fittings computed from each representative audiogram.

BACKGROUND

Hearing aid devices are used to enhance or improve the quality of lifefor the user. These devices may amplify certain sounds that have beenunheard to some degree by the user in the past. Because each user of ahearing aid has varying degrees of hearing loss, these devices areprogrammable for adaptation to the user's needs.

In order to program a hearing aid to be tailored to the user's hearingneeds, the user's hearing threshold may be measured using asound-stimulus-producing device and calibrated headphone. Themeasurement of the hearing threshold may take place in a sound-isolatingroom. For example, the measurement may occur in a room where there isvery little audible noise. The sound-stimulus-producing device and thecalibrated headphones may be referred to as an audiometer.

The audiometer may generate pure tones at various frequencies between125 Hz and 12,000 Hz that are representative of the frequency bands inwhich the tones are included. These tones may be transmitted through theheadphones of the audiometer to the individual being tested. Theintensity or volume of the pure tones is varied until the individual canjust barely detect the presence of the tone. For each pure tone, theintensity of the tone at which the individual can just barely detect thepresence of the tone is known as the individual's air conductionthreshold of hearing. The collection of the thresholds of hearing ateach of the various pure tone frequencies is known as an audiogram andmay be presented in graphical form.

When the threshold of hearing in each frequency band has beendetermined, this threshold may be used to estimate the amount ofamplification, compression, and/or other adjustment that will beemployed in the hearing aid device to compensate for the individual'sloss of hearing. As shown by the above, the resources and time requiredto determine the fitting (i.e., amplification, compression, and/or otheradjustments) of a hearing aid for a particular user are extensive. As aresult, benefits may be realized by providing improved systems andmethods for obtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aiddevice.

SUMMARY

According to at least one embodiment, a computer-implemented method forobtaining hearing enhancement fittings for a hearing aid device isdescribed. A plurality of audiograms is collected. The plurality ofaudiograms is divided into one or more sets of audiograms. Arepresentative audiogram is created for each set of audiograms. Ahearing enhancement fitting is computed from each representativeaudiogram. A hearing aid device is programmed with one or more hearingenhancement fittings computed from each representative audiogram.

In one embodiment, the one or more sets of audiograms may be subdividedinto one or more subsets until a termination condition is satisfied. Inone configuration, one or more audiograms may be filtered from theplurality of audiograms. For example, one or more audiograms may befiltered from the plurality of audiograms that exceed a specifiedfitting range for the hearing aid device.

In one embodiment, a mean hearing threshold may be determined at eachmeasured frequency of each audiogram within the plurality of audiograms.Prototype audiograms may be created from the mean hearing threshold. Inaddition, each prototype audiogram may be associated with a set ofaudiograms. In one configuration, an audiogram may be placed in the setof audiograms if the audiogram is similar to the prototype audiogramassociated with the set. In one embodiment, the creation of arepresentative audiogram for each set of audiograms may includecalculating a mean of each audiogram in a set of audiograms.

A computing device configured to obtain hearing enhancement fittings fora hearing aid device is also described. The computing device may includea processor and memory in electronic communication with the processor.The computing device may also include a collection module configured tocollect a plurality of audiograms, and an organization module configuredto divide the plurality of audiograms into one or more sets ofaudiograms. The computing device may further include a representativegeneration module configured to create a representative audiogram foreach set of audiograms. In addition, the computing device may include afitting generation module configured to compute a hearing enhancementfitting from each representative audiogram and program a hearing aiddevice with one or more hearing enhancement fittings computed from eachrepresentative audiogram.

A computer-program product for obtaining hearing enhancement fittingsfor a hearing aid device is also described. The computer-program productmay include a computer-readable medium having instructions thereon. Theinstructions may include code programmed to collect a plurality ofaudiograms, and code programmed to divide the plurality of audiogramsinto one or more sets of audiograms. The instructions may also includecode programmed to create a representative audiogram for each set ofaudiograms, and code programmed to compute a hearing enhancement fittingfrom each representative audiogram. In addition, the instructions mayinclude code programmed to program a hearing aid device with one or morehearing enhancement fittings computed from each representativeaudiogram.

A second computer-implemented method for obtaining hearing enhancementfittings for a hearing aid device is also described. A plurality ofaudiograms may be collected. A hearing enhancement fitting may becomputed from each audiogram of the plurality of audiograms. The hearingenhancement fittings may be divided into one or more sets of fittings. Arepresentative fitting may be created for each set of fittings. Ahearing aid device may be programmed with one or more representativehearing enhancement fittings.

Features from any of the above-mentioned embodiments may be used incombination with one another in accordance with the general principlesdescribed herein. These and other embodiments, features, and advantageswill be more fully understood upon reading the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of exemplary embodimentsand are a part of the specification. Together with the followingdescription, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principlesof the instant disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a firstcomputing device and a second computing device communicating over anetwork connection in order to generate prescriptive fitting targets fora hearing aid device;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computing device generatingprescriptive fittings for a hearing aid device;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of various modulesused to generate one or more prescriptive fitting targets for a hearingaid device;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forobtaining prescriptive fitting targets for a hearing aid device;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of modules togenerate one or more representative prescriptive fittings for a hearingaid device;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forobtaining representative prescriptive fittings for a hearing aid device;and

FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of a computer system suitable forimplementing the present systems and methods.

While the embodiments described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinstant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Many people have hearing losses that are similar in nature. For example,a high-frequency, sloping hearing loss may be common in age-relatedhearing loss. Some people may merely find it difficult to differentiatebetween words that begin with consonantal sounds such as the fricativesor sibilants, z, or th, or the plosives d, t, b, or p. Some may beunable to hear thin, high-pitched or metallic noises.

A hearing aid device may be an electro-acoustic body worn apparatus thattypically fits in or behind the wearer's ear. This device may bedesigned to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer. Dispensers ormanufactures of hearing aid devices may program a hearing aid devicewith a fitting that is specific to the wearer's audiogram. An audiogrammay be a graphical representation of the wearer's hearing loss. Once thehearing aid is fitted according to the audiogram, an audiologist and/orthe wearer may finely tune or adjust the fitting of the hearing aiduntil a desired result occurs. Programming each hearing aid based onindividual audiograms consumes an enormous amount of time and resources.As previously mentioned, many people have hearing losses that aresimilar in nature as measured by an audiogram. As a result, the presentsystems and methods obtain prescriptive fitting targets for hearing aidsbased on similarities in hearing loss according to multiple audiogramsof individuals.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a firstcomputing device 102 and a second computing device 116 communicatingover a network connection 114 in order to generate prescriptive fittingtargets for a hearing aid device. The computing devices 102, 116 may bea personal computer (PC), a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA),or any other type of computing device.

In one configuration, the first computing device 102 may be associatedwith an audiology facility (or other hearing relating testing facility)in order to generate audiograms for individuals. For example, the firstcomputing device 102 may include an audiogram generation module 104which may gather data from an individual pertaining to the hearingcapabilities of that individual. The generation module 104 may thengenerate an audiogram from the gathered data. In one example, theaudiogram generation module 104 may generate a first audiogram 106, asecond audiogram 108, a third audiogram 110, and a fourth audiogram 112.While only four audiograms 106, 108, 110, 112 are illustrated, it is tobe understood that the audiogram generation module 104 may generate moreor less than four audiograms.

In one embodiment, the first computing device 102 may communicate thegenerated audiograms 106, 108, 110, 112 to a second computing device 116across the network connection 114. In one example, the second computingdevice 116 may be associated with a manufacturing facility for hearingaid devices. The second computing device 116 may include a collectionmodule 118 to collect the audiograms 106, 108, 110, 112 received fromthe first computing device 102. Although FIG. 1 only illustrates asingle computing device 102 sending audiograms to the second computingdevice 116, it is to be understood that the second computing device 116may receive audiograms from more than one computing device located indifferent locations than the first computing device 102. For example,multiple computing devices associated with multiple audiologist'soffices may generate audiograms for individuals and send theseaudiograms to the second computing device 116.

In one embodiment, the second computing device 116 may further include afilter 119. The filter 119 may eliminate or exclude one or moreaudiograms received by the collection module 118. The filter 119 mayexclude one or more received audiograms based on certain criteria. Forexample, hearing aids may be designed for a specific fitting range. Thefilter 119 may exclude audiograms that exceed the fitting range of atarget hearing aid device. The filter 119 may also exclude audiogramsbased on other factors related to hearing loss or hearing preferencesuch as the age or gender of the individual associated with theaudiogram.

In one configuration, the second computing device 116 may also includean organization module 120. The organization module 120 may divide ororganize audiograms received by the collection module 118 into one ormore sets of audiograms. The organization module 120 may divide thereceived audiograms into certain sets depending on predeterminedcriteria. For example, the collected audiograms may be divided into twosets by first determining a mean hearing threshold at each measuredfrequency across the ensemble of collected audiograms. The computed meanhearing threshold may then be perturbed in some way in order to createtwo prototypical audiograms. The perturbation may be in a random way orby some heuristic to aid in splitting a set. Each prototype audiogrammay be associated with a set. In one configuration, each of thecollected audiograms may then be placed into one of two sets based ontheir relative closeness to one of the two prototype audiograms. In oneembodiment, the closeness may be determined by any appropriate distancemeasure. For example, the mean of the squared differences between thehearing thresholds comprised by a given audiogram and the averagedhearing thresholds comprised by a prototype audiogram over each of themeasured frequencies may be used to determine the relative closeness ofan audiogram to one of the two prototype audiograms.

In one embodiment, each of the two sets of audiograms may be furthersubdivided. For example, new mean audiograms may be generated for eachof the two sets. The mean audiograms may be perturbed to create newprototype audiograms and the audiograms for each set may be regroupedinto smaller subsets based on the relative closeness of a particularaudiogram is to a newly generated prototype audiogram. The subsets maybe continued to be further subdivided until an appropriate terminationcondition has been satisfied such as, for example, a desired number ofsubsets is achieved, a desired minimum error by some error measure isachieved, and the like.

The second computing device 116 may further include a representativegeneration module 122. The generation module 122 may generate arepresentative audiogram based on the sets and subsets of audiogramsorganized by the organization module 120. For example, representativeaudiograms may be generated by calculating the overall mean ofaudiograms in a particular subset. A prescriptive fitting generationmodule 124 may generate one or more prescriptive fittings for a hearingaid based on a representative audiogram created by the representativegeneration module 122. One or more of the prescriptive fittings may beprogrammed on a hearing aid device. If more than one fitting isprogrammed, the wearer of the device may select the prescriptive fittingmost appropriate for his/her own hearing loss or comfort. As explainedabove, the fittings may be obtained from multiple audiograms that mayexhibit some degree of similar hearing loss patterns.

In another embodiment, the organization module 120 may not divide thecollected audiograms into sets and subsets. In one example, the filter119 may exclude audiograms that fall outside a particular fitting rangeof a target hearing aid device. A prescriptive fitting generation module124 may generate fittings to be programmed on a hearing aid device basedon each remaining audiogram. In another example, the filter 119 may notexclude any of the collected audiograms and the generation module 124may generate fittings based on each audiogram received from the firstcomputing device 102. The generated fittings may be organized into setsand subsets by the organization module 120 in a manner similar to themanner previously described above. Representative fittings may begenerated by the representative generation module 122 that arerepresentative of each set or subset of fittings. In one embodiment, oneor more of the representative fittings may be programmed into thehearing aid device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computing device 216 togenerate prescriptive fittings for a hearing aid device 240. In oneconfiguration, the computing device 216 may include a collection module218 that collects a plurality of audiograms 226. The plurality ofaudiograms 226 may be received from one or more computing devicesassociated with various audiology facilities or other facilities thatmay test the hearing thresholds of an individual. The computing device216 may also include a filter 219. The filter 219 may exclude or filterone or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms 226 based upon acertain criteria. For example, as previously explained, the filter 219may exclude audiograms that exceed the fitting range of the hearing aiddevice 240. The computing device 216 may also include an organizationmodule 220. The module 220 may organize or divide each of the audiogramsin the plurality of audiograms 226 into one or more sets of audiograms228, 230, 232. In addition, the organization module 220 may organize ordivide prescriptive fittings into one or more sets of fittings 260, 262,264.

In one configuration, the computing device 216 may further include arepresentative generation module 222. In one example, the generationmodule 222 may include a representative audiogram generation module 234.The module 234 may generate one or more representative audiograms fromthe sets of audiograms 228, 230, 232 created by the organization module220. In addition, the representative generation module 222 may include arepresentative fitting generation module 236. The module 236 maygenerate a representative fitting based on the one or more sets offittings 260, 262, 264 created by the organization module 220.

Further, the computing device 216 may include a prescriptive fittinggeneration module 238. The module 238 may generate one or moreprescriptive fittings based on the representative audiograms. In oneconfiguration the prescriptive fitting generation module 238 maygenerate a first prescriptive fitting 242, a second prescriptive fitting244, and a third prescriptive fitting 246. The generation module 238 maygenerate more or less than three prescriptive fittings. The generatedprescriptive fittings 242, 244, 246 may be programmed into the hearingaid device 240.

In another embodiment, the generation module 238 may generate fittingsbased on each audiogram within the plurality of audiograms 226. Thesefittings may then be organized by the organization module 220 into thesets of fittings 260, 262, 264. The representative fitting generationmodule 236 may generate representative fittings based on the sets offittings 260, 262, 264. As previously explained, the representativefittings (not shown) may be programmed on the hearing aid device 240.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of various modulesused to generate one or more prescriptive fitting for a hearing aiddevice 340. In one configuration, a plurality of audiograms 326 may beprovided to an organization module 320. For example, a first audiogram306, a second audiogram 308, and a third audiogram 310 may be providedto the organization module 320. In one example, there may be more orless than three audiograms that comprise the plurality of audiograms326.

In one configuration, the organization module 320 may divide or organizethe plurality of audiograms 326 into one or more sets of audiograms 328,330, 332. For example, the organization module 320 may divide some ofthe audiograms into a first set of audiograms 328. In other words, thefirst set of audiograms 328 may include the first audiogram 306, afourth audiogram 350, and a seventh audiogram 356. The first set ofaudiograms 328 may include more or less than three audiograms. Inaddition, the organization module 320 may organize or create a secondset of audiograms 330 and a third set of audiograms 332. Each of thesets of audiograms may include individual audiograms that are common orsimilar to each other to a certain degree. For example, each set ofaudiograms 328, 330, 332 may include individual audiograms that arewithin a certain degree of error to an average audiogram. The sets ofaudiograms 328, 330, 332 may be further subdivided into further subsetsuntil a termination condition is satisfied. For clarity and ease ofunderstanding, however, additional subsets of audiograms are notillustrated.

In one embodiment, each of the sets of audiograms 328, 330, 332 may beanalyzed by a representative audiogram generation module 334. Thegeneration module 334 may generate a representative audiogram for eachset of audiograms. For example, a first representative audiogram 390 maybe generated that represents the audiograms 306, 350, 356 within thefirst set of audiograms 328. Similarly, a second representativeaudiogram 392 may be generated that represents each audiogram 308, 352,358 within the second set of audiograms 330. Likewise, a thirdrepresentative audiogram 394 may be generated that represents theaudiograms 310, 354, 360 within the third set of audiograms 332. Therepresentative audiograms 390, 392, 394 may be generated by taking themean of each set of audiograms 328, 330, 332. For example, the firstrepresentative audiogram 390 may be generated by taking the overall meanof the audiograms within the first set of audiograms 328.

In one configuration, each of the representative audiograms 390, 392,394 may be provided to a prescriptive fitting generation module 338. Thegeneration module 338 may generate a prescriptive fitting 342, 344, 346from each representative audiogram 390, 392, 394. In other words, afirst prescriptive fitting 342 may be generated based on the firstrepresentative audiogram 390. A second prescriptive fitting 344 may begenerated based on the second representative audiogram 392. Similarly, athird prescriptive fitting 346 may be generated based on the thirdrepresentative audiogram 394. One or more of the prescriptive fittings342, 344, 346 may be programmed or downloaded to a memory componentwithin the hearing aid device 340.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method forobtaining prescriptive fitting targets for a hearing aid device. In oneconfiguration, a plurality of audiograms may be collected 402. Theplurality of audiograms may be divided 404 into one or more sets ofaudiograms. A determination 406 may be made as to whether a terminationcondition is satisfied after the plurality of audiograms are divided 404into one or more sets of audiograms. If it is determined that thetermination condition is not satisfied, the one or more sets ofaudiograms may be further subdivided 408 into one or more subsets ofaudiograms. The determination 406 may then be made as to whether thetermination condition is satisfied. If it is determined 406 that thetermination condition is still not satisfied, the method 400 maycontinue by further subdividing 408 subsets of audiograms into one ormore subsets of audiograms until the termination condition is satisfied.

If, however, it is determined 406 that the termination condition issatisfied, a representative audiogram for each set (or subset) ofaudiograms may be created 410. In one embodiment, a prescriptive fittingmay be computed 412 from each representative audiogram. A hearing aiddevice may then be programmed 414 with one or more prescriptive fittingsobtained from the representative audiograms.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of modules togenerate one or more representative prescriptive fittings for a hearingaid device 540. In one configuration, a plurality of audiograms 526 maybe analyzed by a prescriptive fitting generation module 538. Forexample, a first audiogram 506, a second audiogram 508, and a thirdaudiogram 510 may be analyzed by the prescriptive fitting generationmodule 538. In one embodiment, the generation module 538 may generate aprescriptive fitting from each audiogram within the plurality ofaudiograms 526. For example, the generation module 538 may generate afirst prescriptive fitting 542, a second prescriptive fitting 544, and athird prescriptive fitting 546 based on the first audiogram 506, thesecond audiogram 508, and the third audiogram 510, respectively.

In one example, each of the prescriptive fittings 542, 544, 546 may beprovided to an organization module 520. In one embodiment, theorganization module 520 may divide each fitting into one or more sets offittings 560, 562, 564. For example, the organization module 520 maycreate a first set of fittings 560 that includes the first prescriptivefitting 542, a fourth prescriptive fitting 566, and a seventhprescriptive fitting 572. In addition, the organization module 520 maycreate a second set of fittings 562 that may include a second fitting544, a fifth prescriptive fitting 568, and an eighth prescriptivefitting 574. Similarly, a third set of fittings 564 may be created bythe organization module 520. In one embodiment, the third set offittings 564 may include the third prescriptive fitting 546, a sixthprescriptive fitting 570, and a ninth prescriptive fitting 576. The setsof fittings 560, 562, 564 may be further subdivided into further subsetsuntil a termination condition is satisfied. For clarity and ease ofunderstanding, however, additional subsets of fittings are notillustrated.

In one configuration, each of the sets of fittings 560, 562, 564 may beanalyzed by a representative fitting generation module 536. In oneexample, the generation module 536 may generate a representative fitting580, 582, 584 that is representative of each set of fittings 560, 562,564. In other words, the generation module 536 may generate a firstrepresentative fitting 580 that is representative of the first set offittings 560. In addition, a second representative fitting 582 may begenerated that is representative of the second set of fittings 562.Similarly, a third representative fitting 584 may be generated that isrepresentative of the third set of fittings 564. The representativefittings 580, 582, 584 may be generated by taking the mean of each setof fittings 560, 562, 564. For example, the first representative fitting580 may be generated by taking the overall mean of the fittings withinthe first set of fittings 560. In one configuration, the hearing aiddevice 540 may be programmed with one or more of the representativefittings 580, 582, 584.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method forobtaining representative prescriptive fittings for a hearing aid device.In one embodiment, a plurality of audiograms may be collected 602. Aprescriptive fitting may be computed 604 from each audiogram in theplurality of audiograms. In one embodiment, the prescriptive fittingsmay be divided 606 into one or more sets of fittings. A determination608 may be made as to whether a termination condition is satisfied. Ifit is determined 608 that the termination condition is not satisfied,the one or more sets of fittings may be further subdivided 610 into oneor more subsets of fittings. The determination 608 may then be made asto whether the termination condition is satisfied. If it is stilldetermined that the termination condition has not been satisfied, themethod 600 may continue to further subdivide 610 one or more sets (orsubsets) of fittings into one or more subsets until the terminationcondition has been satisfied.

If, however, it is determined 608 that the termination condition hasbeen satisfied, a representative prescriptive fitting may be created 612for each set (or subset) of fittings. In one configuration, the hearingaid device may be programmed 614 with one or more representativeprescriptive fittings.

In one embodiment, the method 400 described in FIG. 4 and the method 600described in FIG. 6 may be combined. For example, a plurality ofaudiograms may be collected 402, 602. The plurality of audiograms may bedivided 404 into one or more sets of audiograms. A determination 406 maybe made as to whether a termination condition is satisfied after theplurality of audiograms are divided 404 into one or more sets ofaudiograms. If it is determined that the termination condition is notsatisfied, the one or more sets of audiograms may be further subdivided408 into one or more subsets of audiograms. The determination 406 maythen be made as to whether the termination condition is satisfied. If itis determined 406 that the termination condition is still not satisfied,the method 400 may continue by further subdividing 408 subsets ofaudiograms into one or more subsets of audiograms until the terminationcondition is satisfied.

If, however, it is determined 406 that the termination condition issatisfied, a representative audiogram for each set (or subset) ofaudiograms may be created 410. In one embodiment, a prescriptive fittingmay be computed 412 from each representative audiogram. The prescriptivefittings may be divided 606 into one or more sets of fittings. Adetermination 608 may be made as to whether a termination condition issatisfied. If it is determined 608 that the termination condition is notsatisfied, the one or more sets of fittings may be further subdivided610 into one or more subsets of fittings. The determination 608 may thenbe made as to whether the termination condition is satisfied. If it isstill determined that the termination condition has not been satisfied,the method 600 may continue to further subdivide 610 one or more sets(or subsets) of fittings into one or more subsets until the terminationcondition has been satisfied.

If, however, it is determined 608 that the termination condition hasbeen satisfied, a representative prescriptive fitting may be created 612for each set (or subset) of fittings. In one configuration, the hearingaid device may be programmed 614 with one or more representativeprescriptive fittings.

FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of a computer system 710 suitable forimplementing the present systems and methods. Computer system 710includes a bus 712 which interconnects major subsystems of computersystem 710, such as a central processor 714, a system memory 717(typically RAM, but which may also include ROM, flash RAM, or the like),an input/output controller 718, an external audio device, such as aspeaker system 720 via an audio output interface 722, an externaldevice, such as a display screen 724 via display adapter 726, serialports 728 and 730, a keyboard 732 (interfaced with a keyboard controller733), a storage interface 734, a floppy disk drive 737 operative toreceive a floppy disk 738, a host bus adapter (HBA) interface card 735Aoperative to connect with a Fibre Channel network 790, a host busadapter (HBA) interface card 735B operative to connect to a SCSI bus739, and an optical disk drive 740 operative to receive an optical disk742. Also included are a mouse 746 (or other point-and-click device,coupled to bus 712 via serial port 728), a modem 747 (coupled to bus 712via serial port 730), and a network interface 748 (coupled directly tobus 712).

Bus 712 allows data communication between central processor 714 andsystem memory 717, which may include read-only memory (ROM) or flashmemory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), aspreviously noted. The RAM is generally the main memory into which theoperating system and application programs are loaded. The ROM or flashmemory can contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system(BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as the interactionwith peripheral components. For example, the collection module 118, thefilter 119, the organization module 120, the representative generationmodule 122, and the prescriptive fitting generation module 124 toimplement the present systems and methods may be stored within thesystem memory 717. Applications resident with computer system 710 aregenerally stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium, such asa hard disk drive (e.g., fixed disk 744), an optical drive (e.g.,optical drive 740), a floppy disk unit 737, or other storage medium.Additionally, applications can be in the form of electronic signalsmodulated in accordance with the application and data communicationtechnology when accessed via network modem 747 or interface 748.

Storage interface 734, as with the other storage interfaces of computersystem 710, can connect to a standard computer readable medium forstorage and/or retrieval of information, such as a fixed disk drive 744.Fixed disk drive 744 may be a part of computer system 710 or may beseparate and accessed through other interface systems. Modem 747 mayprovide a direct connection to a remote server via a telephone link orto the Internet via an internet service provider (ISP). Networkinterface 748 may provide a direct connection to a remote server via adirect network link to the Internet via a POP (point of presence).Network interface 748 may provide such connection using wirelesstechniques, including digital cellular telephone connection, CellularDigital Packet Data (CDPD) connection, digital satellite data connectionor the like.

Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in asimilar manner (e.g., document scanners, digital cameras and so on).Conversely, all of the devices shown in FIG. 7 need not be present topractice the present disclosure. The devices and subsystems can beinterconnected in different ways from that shown in FIG. 7. Theoperation of a computer system such as that shown in FIG. 7 is readilyknown in the art and is not discussed in detail in this application.Code to implement the present disclosure can be stored incomputer-readable storage media such as one or more of system memory717, fixed disk 744, optical disk 742, or floppy disk 738. The operatingsystem provided on computer system 710 may be MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®,OS/2®, UNIX®, Linux®, or another known operating system.

Moreover, regarding the signals described herein, those skilled in theart will recognize that a signal can be directly transmitted from afirst block to a second block, or a signal can be modified (e.g.,amplified, attenuated, delayed, latched, buffered, inverted, filtered,or otherwise modified) between the blocks. Although the signals of theabove described embodiment are characterized as transmitted from oneblock to the next, other embodiments of the present disclosure mayinclude modified signals in place of such directly transmitted signalsas long as the informational and/or functional aspect of the signal istransmitted between blocks. To some extent, a signal input at a secondblock can be conceptualized as a second signal derived from a firstsignal output from a first block due to physical limitations of thecircuitry involved (e.g., there will inevitably be some attenuation anddelay). Therefore, as used herein, a second signal derived from a firstsignal includes the first signal or any modifications to the firstsignal, whether due to circuit limitations or due to passage throughother circuit elements which do not change the informational and/orfinal functional aspect of the first signal.

While the foregoing disclosure sets forth various embodiments usingspecific block diagrams, flowcharts, and examples, each block diagramcomponent, flowchart step, operation, and/or component described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented, individually and/or collectively,using a wide range of hardware, software, or firmware (or anycombination thereof) configurations. In addition, any disclosure ofcomponents contained within other components should be consideredexemplary in nature since many other architectures can be implemented toachieve the same functionality.

The process parameters and sequence of steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or describedherein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps donot necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated ordiscussed. The various exemplary methods described and/or illustratedherein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustratedherein or include additional steps in addition to those disclosed.

Furthermore, while various embodiments have been described and/orillustrated herein in the context of fully functional computing systems,one or more of these exemplary embodiments may be distributed as aprogram product in a variety of forms, regardless of the particular typeof computer-readable media used to actually carry out the distribution.The embodiments disclosed herein may also be implemented using softwaremodules that perform certain tasks. These software modules may includescript, batch, or other executable files that may be stored on acomputer-readable storage medium or in a computing system. In someembodiments, these software modules may configure a computing system toperform one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the present systems and methods and their practicalapplications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to bestutilize the present systems and methods and various embodiments withvarious modifications as may be suited to the particular usecontemplated.

Unless otherwise noted, the terms “a” or “an,” as used in thespecification and claims, are to be construed as meaning “at least oneof.” In addition, for ease of use, the words “including” and “having,”as used in the specification and claims, are interchangeable with andhave the same meaning as the word “comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for programming ahearing aid device, the computer-implemented method comprising:collecting using a first computing device an audiogram, an audiogrambeing a collection of hearing thresholds; communicating via a networkconnection the collected audiogram to a second computing device, thesecond computing device storing a plurality of audiograms from a numberof first computing devices, the second computing device dividing theplurality of audiograms into one or more sets of audiograms; the secondcomputing device creating a representative audiogram for each set ofaudiograms; the second computing device having a prescriptive fittinggeneration module, the prescriptive fitting generation module generatingprescriptive fittings for the hearing aid based on the representativeaudiogram; and communicating from the second computing device to thefirst computing device the prescriptive fittings for the hearing aiddevice and programming at the first computer device the hearing aiddevice with the prescriptive fittings.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the second computing device subdivides theone or more sets of audiograms into one or more subsets until atermination condition is satisfied.
 3. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein the second computing device filters one or moreaudiograms from the plurality of audiograms.
 4. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 3, wherein the second computing device filters one ormore audiograms from the plurality of audiograms that exceed a specifiedfitting range for the hearing aid device.
 5. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the second computing device determines a meanhearing threshold at each measured frequency of each audiogram withinthe plurality of audiograms.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim5, wherein the second computing device creates prototype audiograms fromthe mean hearing threshold.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim6, wherein the second computing device associates each prototypeaudiogram with a set of audiograms.
 8. The computer-implemented methodof claim 7, wherein the second computing device places an audiogram inthe set of audiograms if the audiogram is similar to the prototypeaudiogram associated with the set.
 9. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein creating a representative audiogram for each set ofaudiograms further comprises calculating a mean of each audiogram in aset of audiograms.
 10. A computing device configured to obtain hearingenhancement fittings for a hearing aid device, the computing devicecomprising: a processor; memory in electronic communication with theprocessor; a collection module configured to receive and collect aplurality of audiograms from other computing devices via acommunications network, an audiogram being a collection of hearingthresholds; an organization module configured to divide the plurality ofaudiograms into one or more sets of audiograms; a representativegeneration module configured to create a representative audiogram foreach set of audiograms; and a fitting generation module configured tocompute a hearing enhancement fitting from each representativeaudiogram, wherein said computing device communicates hearingenhancement fittings to other computing devices via said communicationsnetwork to program a hearing aid device with one or more hearingenhancement fittings computed from each representative audiogram. 11.The computing device of claim 10, wherein the organization module isfurther configured to subdivide the one or more sets of audiograms intoone or more subsets until a termination condition is satisfied.
 12. Thecomputing device of claim 10, further comprising a filter configured tofilter one or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms.
 13. Thecomputing device of claim 12, wherein the filter is further configuredto filter one or more audiograms from the plurality of audiograms thatexceed a specified fitting range for the hearing aid device.
 14. Thecomputing device of claim 10, wherein the organization module is furtherconfigured to determine a mean hearing threshold at each measuredfrequency of each audiogram within the plurality of audiograms.
 15. Thecomputing device of claim 14, wherein the organization module is furtherconfigured to create prototype audiograms from the mean hearingthreshold.
 16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein theorganization module is further configured to associate each prototypeaudiogram with a set of audiograms.
 17. The computing device of claim16, wherein the organization module is further configured to place anaudiogram in the set of audiograms if the audiogram is similar to theprototype audiogram associated with the set.
 18. The computing device ofclaim 10, wherein the representative generation module is furtherconfigured to calculate a mean of each audiogram in a set of audiogramsin order to create a representative audiogram for each set ofaudiograms.
 19. A computer-readable non-transitory recording mediumencoded with instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed on acomputing devise cause the computing device to perform a method, themethod comprising: receiving and collecting a plurality of audiogramsfrom other computing devices via a communications network, an audiogrambeing a collection of hearing thresholds; dividing the plurality ofaudiograms into one or more sets of audiograms; e creating arepresentative audiogram for each set of audiograms; computing a hearingenhancement fitting from each representative audiogram; andcommunicating hearing enhancement fitters to other computing devices viasaid communications network to program a hearing aid device with one ormore hearing enhancement fittings computed from each representativeaudiogram.
 20. A computer-implemented method for obtaining hearingenhancement fittings for a hearing aid device, the computer-implementedmethod comprising: receiving and collecting a plurality of audiogramsfrom other computing devices via a communications network, an audiogrambeing a collection of hearing thresholds; computing a hearingenhancement fitting from each audiogram of the plurality of audiograms;dividing the hearing enhancement fittings into one or more sets offittings; creating a representative fitting for each set of fittings;and communicating hearing enhancement fittings to other computingdevices via said communications network to program a hearing aid devicewith one or more representative hearing enhancement fittings.
 21. Acomputing device configured to program a hearing aid device with ahearing enhancement fitting, the computing device comprising: anaudiogram generation module that generates an audiogram, an audiogrambeing a collection of hearing thresholds; a network connection forcommunicating the generated audiogram to a second computing device via acommunications network, said second computing device being configuredto: receive and collect a plurality of audiograms via the communicationsnetwork; divide the plurality of audiograms into one or more sets ofaudiograms; create a representative audiogram for each set ofaudiograms; and compute a hearing enhancement fitting from eachrepresentative audiogram; wherein said computing device receives, fromthe second computing device via the communications network, a hearingenhancement fitting computed from a representative audiogram andprograms the hearing aid device with the received hearing enhancementfitting computed from the representative audiogram.
 22. A computingdevice configured to program a hearing aid device with a hearingenhancement fitting, the computing device comprising: an audiogramgeneration module that generates an audiogram, an audiogram being acollection of hearing thresholds; a network connection for communicatingthe generated audiogram to a second computing device via acommunications network, said second computing device being configuredto: receive and collect a plurality of audiograms via the communicationsnetwork; compute a hearing enhancement fitting from each audiogram ofthe plurality of audiograms; divide the plurality of fittings into oneor more sets of fittings; and create a representative hearingenhancement fitting for each set of fittings; wherein said computingdevice receives, from the second computing device via the communicationsnetwork, a representative hearing enhancement fitting and programs thehearing aid device with the received representative hearing enhancementfitting.